order to God and to Religion And this may serve as an Explication of Truth as it relates to the Understanding 2. Truth as it relates to Practice is properly Veracity and is opposed to Lying and Deceit To be plain and true hearted in our Words and Promises according to the simplicity of the Gospel So that when the Apostle bids us mind such things as are true it is all one with his Exhortation Ephes 4.25 Wherefore putting away Lying speak every Man the Truth with his Neighbour For God being a God of Truth and not capable of deceiving Men either in his Words or Promises he would have Men to be like unto him And this Duty is necessary upon these Two Accounts 1. From the Conformity and Likeness it hath to the Nature of God God is represented in the Old Testament by the Holy One of Israel that cannot Lie and in the New the Apostle Argues from the Immutability of the Nature of God that it is impossible for him to Lie or to Deceive For to Lie is a Weakness Sickness and Imperfection of the Mind which God cannot be subject to No Power or Force can constrain him to do otherwise than his Nature wills and his Counsels and Will being directed by an Infinite Goodness and Wisdom there cannot be in him any Variableness Inconstancy or shadow of turning And he is most like unto God who stands Confidently and Immutably to what is True and Right For Truth deriving from an Infinite and Almighty Being is bold and takes place when Deceit and Falshood is put to its Shifts and runs into holes hating the light Therefore the wiser Heathens used to say That to speak the Truth and to do Good were things that made us most like to God And most certain it is that the more a Man swerves and declines from Truth the further he is removed from a Participation of the Nature of God Hence when the Jews would not believe our Saviour who testified that Truth he had received of God he tells them John 8.44 They were of their Father the Devil who was a Lyar and the Father of it He was the first Inventer and the first Author of Lies in the World Therefore says Christ when he speaketh a Lie he speaketh of his own 'T is none of God's Creation but an effect which he is the sole Cause and Author and Original of When that foul Spirit had once disjoined and separated himself from God then he began to Lie and to Deceive and taught Men to do so too which shewed the weakness of his Nature when once it became uncentred and unhinged from that Stable and Unchangeable Being who is Truth it self 2. Truth is the Bond and Foundation of all Civil Society There is no Commerce or Intercourse between Men in the World without this And hence it is that a Liar is banished and excluded from all sober Society and the Reason is because he destroys that which God and Nature ordained should preserve and maintain a Correspondence one with another Therefore the very Formality that is the Nature of a Lie includes in it a piece of Injustice and is a real Injury done to another For Words and Expressions being only the significations of our Minds one to another every Man has a right of judging and understanding by these what is signified to him Now when a Man tells a Lie he imposes upon his Neighbour and deprives him of his Right by making him to believe quite contrary to what the things are Therefore our Blessed Saviour tells us That for every idle Word that Men shall speak they shall be accountable Mat. 12.36 which is not meant of every impertinent or useless but every vain or false Word i. e. for every Lie And there is a great deal of Reason for this because he that Lies to another not only betrays the Effeminateness and Weakness of his Nature but is really injurious to his Neighbour and destroys and undermines that which is the common Cement and Bond by which Societies are incorporated together Wherefore let it be every Man's Care to avoid all Fraud and Dissimulation in his Words and Actions For nothing is more unbecoming a Man much more undecent and odious is it in a Christian who professes a Religion that owns the greatest simplicity and openness and freedom and plain-heartedness in the World Our Blessed Saviour tho' he many times prudently avoided Captious and Ensharing Questions yet when he was demanded an Account of that for which he came into the World i. e. whether he were the Christ or the true Messiah he owns it though he knew this very Truth would cost him his Life When the Cause of God and a good Conscience lies at stake then Truth must in a particular manner shew it self For to Dissemble and to be False to this is to betray the Religion that we profess Therefore we find among the Catalogue of those that are excluded from the Kingdom of Heaven are all such as love and make a Lie Revel 22.15 not only such as make Deceits and Dissimulations to betray the Truth but such as love and delight in such Treacherous Actions And in express terms God Almighty Threatens all Liars Revel 21.8 That they shall have their Portion in the Lake that burns with Fire and Brimstone Because Falshood is not only contrary to the Nature of God and sinks us into a Condition the furthest removed from him but destroys the Interest of Christianity which requires in all its Professors the greatest Truth and Faithfulness in all their Words and Actions Christ came to promote a Fair and Innocent Nature in the World which cannot consist with those Blemishes and Spots that attend Lying and Deceit Truth is plain and easie but a Lie is crooked and perverse and made up of many windings and turnings So that he that considers the Nature of God who is absolute Truth the Interest of Religion and the Good of Mankind will not think such an Exhortation as this to be unseasonable but will with all diligence pursue and follow such things as are true 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Whatsoever things are honest Besides what we have here discoursed of Virtue in general we may further Note that these and such like are the Moral Furniture of our Souls they are the Transcripts and Derivations of the Nature of God which however by a long Degeneracy they seem to be worn out and the Traces of them in many to be scarce visible yet there is such a Cognation and Congruity between them and the Nature of our Souls that they are ready to embrace whenever duly offered to them After having advised to things true the Apostle comes next to whatsoever things are honest which is not to be taken in a strict signification as Honesty is a part of Justice for that St. Paul mentions afterwards but the word honest here must be taken in a larger signification for whatever is becoming So the Word in the Original imports
Image of God Communicated unto Man it follows that things are only so far of good Report as they are Virtuous And hence it is that the true Judg of what is Virtuous and what is not must be the Wise and Virtuous Man himself For he being plentifully endued with and perfectly awakened into this high and exalted Principle of Life he presently feels and knows and has a quick tast and rellish of what is agreeable to that Divine Life which his Soul is so throughly possessed of And being perfectly Dead to all Sensual Affections which may Cloud or Distruct his Judgment he instantly discerns the least Blemishes and Corruptions of Life and so becomes perfectly inabled to determin what is Laudable and Praise worthy and of good Report This Internal Sense of his being as fitly qualified to discern its proper Objects as the clear Eye is to discern Light and Colours But as for Men of Depraved Souls and Wicked Lives they are no more able to determin and define things of good Report than Swines are to Judg of the Symmetry of a Beautiful Picture So that when we speak of things of good Report we must take our Measures from what the best and wisest Persons in all Times and Ages have accounted so And for a Man to undervalue the Judgment of such who have jointly and unanimously concluded from that inward Sense they have of Virtue that such and such Actions are Laudable and of good Report and the contrary Dishonest and Base is no better than a great piece of Pride and Arrogance 3. He that purchases a good Name by Virtue he purchases the greatest Treasure that is to be had in this World Therefore Solomon says Prov. 22.1 That a good Name is rather to be chosen than great Riches Because Riches are something without us and do not at all contribute to the Perfection of the Soul but things of good Report being nothing but the effects of Virtue and of that Life which is the true Being of the Soul they are inseparable from it Moreover the Virtuous Man cannot fail by such Actions of making many Friends which are as Boethius speaks Pretiosissimum divitiarum genus The most pretious kind of Riches And further our good or ill Fame is not peremptorily confined to this World but passes before us into the next And every Man by his good or bad Behaviour brings a good or ill Report of himself in the Regions of Spirits before he comes to dwell and converse with them If we be Wicked we are as much scorned there and our Names as Hateful as the Names of Judas or Herod The Angels and separate Spirits quickly know what we are for those discerning Spirits are not easily deceived and the Fame of our Doings arrives to them before we leave the World Those Blessed Spirits are said to Rejoyce at the Conversion of a Sinner Luke 15.10 which is an evident Testimony that our good or evil Behaviour readily comes to their Notice and Cognizance And surely 't is no small dammage to have an ill Report among those who should Assist us and Minister to us in our Wants and Necessities 4. By doing things of good Report we consult not only our own Esteem but the Credit of that Holy Religion we profess It is said 1 Sam. 2.17 that the Sin of Elie's Sons made Men abhor the Offering of the Lord. Their Sinful and Vitious manner of Living brought an ill Report upon themselves and it redounded likewise to God's Dishonour and caused Men to Slight and Despise and Undervalue his Worship and Service So it is with us when we deservedly by some Evil Action bring an ill Report upon our selves the Dishonour lights not only upon us that reflects on God and that Holy Religion that we profess Thus it is said likewise of David 2 Sam. 12.14 That by his Sin he had given cause to the Enemies of the Lord to Blaspheme When they saw so Holy a Man as David fall so foully into Sin they would be apt to despise Religion it self and cry out Is this the fruit of Religion And when those that are Christians shall commit Dishonest and Abominable Actions when they shall allow themselves in the Practice of Open and Scandalous Sins Wicked and Prophane Persons are apt to traduce and speak Evil of Religion it self Thus our Holy Lord and his Religion which he Sealed with his own Blood is Despised and Contemned through the Bad Lives of those that Profess it It should therefore be our Care to consult the Credit of Religion and to make it appear Lovely as it is in all Men's Eyes by our practising all such things as are favoured and well esteem'd by all the Lovers of Virtue When we go to the House of God and tread his Sacred Courts we should use no light and trifling Behaviour but compose both our Souls and Bodies with that Awful Reverence as becomes the Presence of God and his Holy Angels Our Devotion should be grave serious and fervent without any Affectedness or vain desire of Ostentation And we should make it appear that our Hearts are inwardly touched and inflamed with that unimitable Love of Christ in Dying for the World by our frequent Communicating of his Blessed Body and Blood For these things as they are matters of good Report and will certainly procure favour and esteem so they shew that Religion has something that is really valuable in it and that Christianity is the choicest Wisdom that ever was communicated to Mankind If we would therefore do things that are of good Report we ought 1. To put in Practice all these forementioned Virtues and whatever else is Laudable and Praise-worthy The Honour and Credit of Religion is never better secured than by a due Regard to its Sacred Laws and Institutions Though we profess to own Truth yet if we are always wavering and unsettled and tossed about with every wind of Doctrin if we are not true to our Words and Promises but Falsifie and Dissemble and Lie one to another we seem not to be over-jealous of her Honour Nor can we be said to consult the Credit of our Holy Profession while by the Lightness Vanity and Unbecomingness of our Actions we express no Veneration for it Who can believe that we are in Earnest when we talk of Justice and yet do not endeavour to frame our Conversations by that excellent Rule of doing as we would be done by A Discourse of the Sanctity and Purity of Angels will little affect others while we our selves wallow in the Mire and Sink of all Carnal Lusts and Pollutions Should we tell Men of an Internal Beauty and Loveliness in things yet it would be but Words spent to no purpose unless we demonstrate our knowledg of it by doing lovely and obliging Actions It is the faithful discharge of our Duty that conciliates Reverence and Esteem to Religion and promotes a fair Reputation to our selves when Men shall see that we are in Earnest by our
unblamable Conversations Which is according to that sound Admonition of the Apostle 1 Pet. 2.12 Having your Conversation honest among the Gentiles that whereas they speak against you as evil doers they may by your good works which they shall behold Glorifie God in the day of Visitation Notwithstanding all the Malitious Cavils and Atheistical Objections made against Religion yet a true Christian that walks answerably to his Profession must gain at the last a Repute and Esteem from all that are Lovers of God and Virtue 2. If we would do things of good Report and which may purchase us a good Name amongst Men we must carefully avoid not only the open practice of Vice but whatever may have any suspicion in the Minds of Men of Vice And this is called by the Apostle An abstaining from all appearance of Evil 1 Thess 5.22 Whether that signifie from every sort or kind of Evil or from every thing that bears the likeness appearance or shew of a Sin For he that will venture as near to the Confines and Borders of Sin as he can seems to declare a Tacit Liking and Approbation of it and consequently exposes himself to the hazard of being Betrayed and Surprized and so of losing his Credit and Reputation Therefore a Wary and Cautious Christian and such it behoves every Man to be will studiously avoid every thing that may cause the least Jealousie in the Hearts of others of his Sincerity There are many things which are not directly Sinful yet to another who has not that Maturity and Ripeness of Understanding may prove an occasion of Stumbling and Falling and therefore are not to be done by him who would acquire a good Esteem and Reputation It is true if a thing that is in it self indifferent be upon weighty Reasons and Grounds commanded by Law and another through Weakness is scandalized at the use of it it is a thing which a good Christian cannot help and there is an Offence taken but not given Though it were to be wished that there were as few of these Stumbling Blocks laid before Weaker Persons as may fairly consist with the Honour and Interest of Religion it self 3. He that would acquire a Good Name and Reputation must take care that in all his Actings with others he be sincere i. e. upon all Emergences he must practise Virtue for Virtues sake because it is in it self the best and most desirable thing in the World For if in our Conversation we proceed upon Sinister Ends and that Self-advantage and Interest be the Measure of our Actions besides that it redounds to the discredit of Religion it casts a Disgrace upon us and we so far deviate from the Principles of true Virtue as Selfishness is concerned in our Actions And the Reason is because he that makes a fair show of some Virtuous Actions merely to compass Self-Advantage does hereby manifestly declare that if it were not for this Private and Self Love he would not do them which the generality of Mankind must needs look upon as a gross piece of Hypocrisie and Dissimulation than which nothing can be a greater Enemy to our true Credit and Reputation Thus you have an Account of the several Virtues to the practice of which the Apostle so seriously Exhorts us And he that has any Care for the Peace of his Conscience in this Life and his Eternal Happiness hereafter will carefully think on these things Which that we may all do He who is the Author and Finisher of our Faith grant to us to whom be all Honour and Glory both now and for evermore Amen A DISCOURSE OF Sincerity John 1.47 Behold an Israelite indeed in whom is no guile THESE Words our Saviour spake of Nathanael who is reckoned one of the Twelve Apostles though called by another Name for we find him expressly mentioned with them John 21.2 This Person being brought by Philip to Jesus when he was come within distance or hearing Christ says Behold an Israelite indeed in whom is no guile As if our Lord had said See here a Man of that Integrity Simplicity and Sincerity which is highly valued and prized in God's sight And though this were spoken particularly of that Apostle yet it instructs us in this Great and Weighty Truth That Sincerity is the great Accomplishment and Perfection of a Christian in God's sight For it is no new thing for true Christians to be called in Scripture by the Name of Israelites For St. Paul expresses it so in more than one place in plain terms Rom. 9.6 They are not all Israel which are of Israel i. e. though they may Lineally descend from Israel yet it is only those that are Sincere that are the proper Israelites or true Christians So again Rom. 2.28 Now to be without Guile here is to be Sincere and without Hypocrisie whereby it appears that a Man is Valued and Esteemed in the Eyes of God according to his Sincerity And this sometimes is represented by the Name of Truth I have no greater Joy says St. John Ep. 3.4 then to hear that my Children walk in Truth that is that they are Sincere Christians I am sure it was St. Paul's great Comfort when he supposed himself near his Death 2 Cor. 1.12 That in Sincerity and Godly Simplicity he had his Conversation in the World He neither flattered himself nor those that heard him but told them the plain Truth shewing them both by what he himself and they must hope to go to Heaven And this was the down-right Sincerity of his Heart when he had no doublings windings or turnings with God but endeavoured as far as ever he could to please him and do his Will This alone has the Promise of Heaven and upon this the Blessed Land of Righteousness the Pleasant Mansions of Immortality are Entailed This is the Complement and Perfection of Holiness without which all our Religion is but a mere Shadow Pageantry For then only is the Soul of Man said to be Sincere when it is fully and wholly carried out after that which is simply and absolutely the best And all Men that have any sense of Religion must own that God and the Participation of his Nature is absolutely and above all Comparison the best thing in the World And to attain to a Union with God cannot be denied to be the greatest Happiness the Mind of Man is capable of And since this is not only simply the best but the utmost and compleat Felicity of our Nature it follows that Sincerity is then most perfect when our Wills with all their Affections and Desires are fully and wholly carried out after it Fully and wholly I say that is without any By-ends or Self-designs or Sinister Respects of particular Fame or Gain or any such thing but merely upon a clear Knowledg that it is the best thing in the whole Creation For he whose Intention is not directed aright can hardly attain that excellent Qualification our Saviour so much commended in his